Where Are We Staying With My Marriott Rewards Anniversary Free Night

Marriott RewardsAnniversary free nights from credit cards can be a bit of a pain for a couple of reasons. First of all, you want to make sure that you’re getting a better value than the  cost of the annual fee.

Another issue is that they expire. Do you want to use a free night towards a trip you are planning or plan a trip around it?

I recently shared where we are staying with our IHG Anniversary Free Night. Then AwardWallet informed me that my Marriott Rewards Anniversary Free Night was expiring in less than 3 months.

Rather than have the Marriott Rewards Anniversary Free Night cause me any headache, I decided to use it for a real need while also feeling like I got a good deal.

At the end of the school year, the Michael W Travels family will be heading to St Kitts. Our flight home with American Airlines includes an overnight in Miami. This is a minor hassle and one I didn’t want to spend any extra money on.

I figured that my Marriott Rewards Anniversary Free Night would be the perfect option for this short stay.

While doing a search, there were only a couple of properties which qualified for this redemption since you can only book Marriott Categories 1-5 hotels.

I decided to book a stay at the TownePlace Suites Miami Airport. The hotel offers free shuttle service as well as free breakfast.

If we were to pay for our stay, it would cost $108 plus tax for a total of $122 for the night. If I wanted to use points for the stay, it would cost 25,000 Marriott Rewards points.

So did I get a decent value for my Anniversary Free Night?

In September 2017 I paid the $85 annual fee. I also took advantage of a $10 off $25 Whole Foods Chase Offers deal. This brought my annual fee down to $75 for the year.

So for $75, I got a room which would’ve cost $122. While I didn’t save a ton, I do feel that this will be a solid use for my Anniversary Reward Night.

What do you think?

If you have the Marriott Rewards credit card, let us know where you’ve used your free night?

7 thoughts on “Where Are We Staying With My Marriott Rewards Anniversary Free Night

  1. I missed a flight and was unexpectedly stuck at SFO overnight and faced a shockingly expensive evening somewhere until I remembered that I had not used my certificate yet and wound up at the TownePlace Suites in Foster City — saving around $250 for that last-minute night. Nice place too and Cat 5 with shuttle (only such option for SFO).

  2. Earl Lee- The more expensive the better! I find this a bit harder with Marriott Cat 1-5s and this one satisfied a need without creating an unnecessary, additional trip.

    Cj- Not the best value in the world but I also can’t see that I’ve come across tons of pricey Cat 1-5s. Like I mentioned above, I was looking to use this for a need booking not a new trip.

    me- Nice!

    Marriott Gold Guy- That’s awesome! The extending idea is a good tip.

  3. Get the certificate extended instead. Wait until 2-3 weeks before the certificate is due to expire. Call customer service and ask for an extension, and tell them you were planning a stay somewhere in the near future but the certificate will expire before your planned trip. They will extend it 6 months. I have done it twice and used them both times.

    No one can beat the value I got for my free night certs though. I was able to extend mine from 2016 into 2017, and I booked a two night stay in Augusta GA for the Masters using my two free night certs as the Augusta Marriott is a cat 5 (the 2016 extended one and my 2017 one issued in Jan 2017). The rate was $795 a night. After taxes, the two nights would have cost $1,810. I paid zero. Best redemption for two cc free night certs ever.

  4. I love the Marriott chains outside EWR airport, they often run $150+ including tax. Good value and always a necessity!

  5. No don’t think you got a good value but it saved you 122.00

    I like the residence inn in Adventura Florida as rates are 250 plus in season and is a great location …..in your case sounds like you needed a airport hotel

  6. I agree with using the free night when you’re going to have to overnight in a location anyway. Of course, I love using these on really expensive hotels in exotic locations but it seems like I use at least one of my free nights (IHG, Hyatt, Marriott) on a trip like this when it’s going to expire and have to use it anyway.

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